Isiah Thomas' return to MSG as WNBA Liberty President was profiled last night by HBO's Bryant Gumbel, who said Thomas has been afforded "yet another chance in the same town, in the same building that he was run out of a decade ago.” Perhaps even "more remarkably for a man at the center of the biggest sexual harassment suit in sport’s history, he’s been hired to run a women’s team.” MSG Chair James Dolan said of Thomas’ hiring, “I understood that there would be some people who would be unhappy.” Gumbel interjected and said, “That may be the understatement of the interview.” Dolan replied by saying the reaction to Thomas’ hiring was “worse than I imagined.” Gumbel said to Thomas, “Most people viewed that as a slap to the fans.” Thomas: “Some people did.” But he added of the backlash, “We totally understood that, got it, accepted it. And not only accepted it but respected their thoughts, their feelings around this issue.” Gumbel noted what most observers "couldn’t understand, and still don’t, is how James Dolan could bring back to the Garden the same man who had ruined his NBA team, embarrassed his company and cost him over $11 million” from the Anucha Browne sexual harassment lawsuit. Dolan said, “I don’t know if I can explain it other than that there’s something inside of both of us that’s really quite similar: The tenacity, the stubbornness. Isiah’s a guy who doesn’t believe in his limitations, and I’m a guy who doesn’t believe in his limitations.” Dolan said he always trusted Thomas because “I’ve always understood him.”
AN UNLIKELY BOND: Gumbel noted Dolan has many critics in N.Y. that have "long accused him of being an out-of-touch recluse who’d simply been born to the right father.” Since he took over MSG and the franchises which reside there, Dolan’s moves "have been a constant source of ire for fans who wonder if he’s more interested in playing with his blues band than he is in saving his failing teams." But that shared scrutiny has "forged an unlikely bond" between Thomas and Dolan, two men who "on the surface couldn’t seem more different.” Dolan said he is a “very soulful individual, and that comes out in my music.” However, he added that is a side of him there is "not a lot of use for in the chairman’s office, because so much of it is 'Bring me a winner, make a tough decision.'" Dolan: "You can’t always make them with your heart. Sometimes you’ve got to make them with a pencil on the ledger sheet.” He said re-hiring Thomas was not made “completely” with his heart, as they are “close friends." Dolan: "But I have a tremendous amount of respect for his skill and his talent.”
RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB: Dolan claims that as "damaged as Thomas’ reputation was when he hired him to run the Liberty, the team was even in worse shape." He said that when people "looked at the overall landscape of the franchise and the league, it just looks like a never-ending pit of money that just keeps going out the door.” Dolan noted the Liberty have never been profitable and said, "I was just going to give the keys back (to the WNBA)." Dolan said of Thomas, “I didn’t think I would get a better person to do that job than him and he would draw attention to the team.” Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer, who played with Thomas for 13 years with the Pistons, said, "Without Isiah coming into the franchise, there wouldn’t have been the direction we have right now.” The Liberty lost in the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals this season, and Laimbeer said, "The future is very bright.”
NO KNICKS RETURN PLANNED: Following the recorded segment on Thomas and Dolan, Gumbel said it is "logical to wonder if Thomas, now that he’s back at the Garden, might yet again eventually be involved" with the Knicks." However, both Thomas and Dolan, "in the strongest of terms, denied that such a move is, was or ever might be considered.” Thomas: “I can comfortably tell you this: I don't see myself coaching the New York Knicks.” Dolan added, “I don't think that the New York market would ever give him a fair chance at this. I can't imagine why that would be, what would make it worthwhile to go and try to get one” (“Real Sports,” HBO, 10/20).
